Representative Men · Chapter
Plato: New Readings explained
Emerson celebrates the publication of new translations of Plato, praising him as a representative philosopher who marks an epoch in history.
What happens
Emerson celebrates the publication of new translations of Plato, praising him as a representative philosopher who marks an epoch in history. He explores Plato's intellectual method of expanding every fact into higher platforms, his moral insights, and his influence on later thinkers like Shakespeare, Michelangelo, and Swedenborg.
Themes in this chapter
Representative Nature of Individuals
Plato is presented as a representative philosopher who marks an epoch, embodying the privilege of the intellect and the power of carrying up every fact to successive platforms.
Moral Sentiment and Intellect
Emerson highlights Plato's moral conclusions, such as the coincidence of science and virtue, and the intrinsic profit of justice, emphasizing the moral aim that endeared him to mankind.
The Poet and Writer as Seer
Plato is described as having a 'soliform eye' and 'boniform soul,' and his writings possess the sempiternal youth of poetry, with arguments that could be couched in sonnets.
Characters to notice
- Plato
Presented as the representative philosopher who marks an epoch in history, with his method of expanding facts into higher platforms and his moral and intellectual insights.
- William Shakespeare
Cited as a Platonist, with a quote from his works illustrating the idea that nature is made better by no mean but nature makes that mean.
- Michelangelo
Described as a Platonist in his sonnets, exemplifying the class of souls that delight in giving spiritual expression to truth.
- Emanuel Swedenborg
Mentioned as a Platonist throughout his prose poem 'Conjugal Love,' with his subtlety and moral aim commended.
- Socrates
Referenced in the context of Plato's doctrines, including Socrates' belief that the laws below are sisters of the laws above.
- Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Described as 'this eldest Goethe,' hating varnish and falsehood, and delighting in revealing the real at the base of the accidental.
Key passages
“Plato has the fortune, in the history of mankind, to mark an epoch.”
Plato is uniquely positioned in history to define a significant turning point for humanity.
Emerson emphasizes Plato's epoch-making role.
“He represents the privilege of the intellect, the power, namely, of carrying up every fact to successive platforms, and so disclosing, in every fact, a germ of expansion.”
Plato embodies the intellect's ability to elevate each fact to higher levels, revealing its potential for growth.
Describes Plato's method of intellectual expansion.
“Plato affirms the coincidence of science and virtue; for vice can never know itself and virtue; but virtue knows both itself and vice.”
Plato asserts that science and virtue are aligned, as vice cannot understand itself or virtue, while virtue comprehends both.
Highlights Plato's moral philosophy.